Crimpshrine

Wonderful punk band from the late 1980s Bay Area scene. They had a number of 7" releases and a couple LPs released after (I believe) the group broke up. The record label they worked with most often was Lookout Records

Their lineup changed from time to time, but central to the band was Aaron Cometbus of Cometbuszine and Jeff Ott who later was in Fifteen.

One of my roomates in college turned me on to Crimpshrine in around 1990, after they had broken up. (I always miss things.) Right away, I was hooked. I never listened to hair bands after that. Their sound was raw and unrefined. The drums beat almost melodically, speeding up and slowing down, up and down the kit. And the lyrics, OK, while they were not Shakespeare, they had a resonance. More prose than poetry, they spoke to me because they were largely about coming to the end of one's punkness. Everyone is cutting their hair, getting serious, leaving the scene. Growing up. Some people stay, but so many more leave to become bankers, lawyers, suits. I still listen to Crimpshrine and fantasize about what my life would have been like had I not sold out.